As final results from Tuesday’s primary election trickled in, more than half of Austin primary voters indicated they’d like to see Tom Stiehm keep the mayor’s office.

“It makes you feel good because it means people think you do a good job,” Stiehm said.

Austin’s mayor for the last 6 years pulled in 56.2 percent of votes and will continue on to the general election in November. A total of 1,707 votes were cast. Dick Lang, who followed in second place with 22.8 percent of votes, will challenge him.

“Of course, it’s always a thrill,” Lang said of the primary results. “We’re just going to move on to the general election, full-speed ahead.”

Stiehm said he expected to take the lead in the primary, though the margin was larger than he thought.

Both candidates agreed it will be hard to predict how the competition will go in November.

“With Tom getting 56 percent of the votes, it makes him still a strong contester,” Lang said.

“Dick has been here his whole life,” Stiehm said. “I’ve been here for almost 40 years.” Both are public figures, which means each has a lot of supporters, he added.

Still, a tough race to that doesn’t mean voters will be indecisive.

“I think people right now know who they’re going to vote for,” Stiehm said.

Candidate Marian Clennon landed third in the mayoral race, meaning she and candidates Joey Miller and Jerald Kelly will be eliminated from the November ballot.

“First, of course, I am disappointed,” Clennon said. “I ran to represent all 24,718 people of Austin. I ran because I and so many people feel that this city has so much potential.”

But while Clennon was eliminated from the race, she indicated her involvement in the community will continue on as a resident of Austin.

“The good thing about being a regular citizen is that I know how things work on the inside and will continue to demand that I and the other 24,709 citizen be informed on how their government is being run and account for every dime of our tax money,” Clennon said. “I am not going away any time soon.”